By Karen Quinn-Panzer
Travel Matters
Karen Quinn-Panzer
I just returned from Portugal and I can’t wait to go back. This small country on the southwestern coast of Europe is trending – with both tourists and retirees – and there are tons of reasons why.
Those reasons include beautiful city architecture and decorative tiles (“azulejos” in Portuguese); world-class cuisine and wines, including port and vinho verde (white wine that is young or “green”); and wildly beautiful beaches and sunshine averaging 300 days per year. There is no end to what you can look forward to.
We stayed a little over a week and our visit focused on Lisbon and Porto, with a brief visit to Portimao and Lagos in the southern Algarve region.
In addition to being popular beach resorts, there is the wild beauty of the cliffs of Ponta de Piedade that can be explored by small boat. Portimao offers a sweeping broad beach with beautiful hotels and boardwalk cafes and boutiques. Towns have the tiled sidewalks and plazas that Portugal is famous for.
Porto offers two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The old port city is home to 13 port wine cellars, and it’s the gateway to the Douro Valley. Many Americans are discovering this beautiful city as an embarkation point for Douro River cruises, one of the most scenic and naturistic rivers you can cruise on. The banks of the Douro slope upward as you marvel at the ingenuity of harvesting grapes for the Vinho Verde and Port Wine that is grown on these slopes.
We went to the C.N. Kopke Vineyard, which is famous for their vintage ports, and then had a wine tasting lunch at the manor house of Quinto dos Mattos in the village of Saprosa, the birthplace of Magellan.
Lisbon is the second oldest European capital outside of Athens and built on hills alongside the Tagus River. It reminds one of San Francisco – complete with a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are old trams that take you through such narrow streets that you can reach out and touch the buildings you are passing. Pastel de Nata (custard-filled tarts in puff pastry) and codcakes are national favorites; we learned to make both at the Compradre Cooking School.
Sintra, another World Heritage Site near Lisbon, offers many palaces to explore – including the most famous, Pena Palace, a fabulous pastel palace right out of a fairytale. Although most people visit as a day trip, it is worth a stay for a few nights.
We also went to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost tip of Europe, 40 miles west of Lisbon. The nearby Nazare area has record 94-foot waves and is serious surfing nirvana. We dined at Furnas do Guincho with amazing food and even more amazing ocean views.
To top it all off, the cost of touring in Portugal is less than most European countries. So when you are looking at where to go in Europe, consider Portugal. It’s also easily combined with Spain or Morocco.
Karen Quinn-Panzer is the owner and vacation specialist at Dream Vacations Quinn Panzer Travel in Milford.